Gold prices rose during these moments of trading, today, Wednesday, supported by the stability of the dollar index, as investors look forward to the minutes of the last monetary policy meeting of the Federal Reserve (the US central bank), scheduled to be released later today, for more clarity on the path of interest rates.
The minutes of the US Federal Reserve's January monetary policy meeting will be released at 22:00 Saudi time.
Gold prices could rise by about 50% if central banks ramp up their buying or the global economy goes into a deep recession, reaching $3,000 an ounce in about a year, said Akash Doshi, head of North American commodities at Citigroup (NYSE: C ).
The Fed is likely to cut the federal funds rate in June, according to a narrow majority of economists polled by Reuters. But the biggest risk is that the first rate cut will come later than expected rather than sooner.
Despite the notable progress in inflation in the United States, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Mary Daly said that there is more work to be done to ensure price stability.
Meanwhile, another Fed official warned against delaying interest rate cuts for too long.
Better-than-expected U.S. consumer and producer price data last week dashed hopes of a March interest rate cut.
Markets currently price in a 77% chance of a cut in June.
Gold at settlement yesterday
Gold futures prices extended gains at the close of trading on Tuesday, amid a decline in the dollar index and US bond yields.
At settlement, gold futures for April delivery rose 0.8%, or $15.7, to $2,039.8 an ounce, after ending Friday's trading with losses for the second week in a row.
Gold and dollar now
Gold futures settled at $2,040 an ounce.
Spot gold futures rose 0.21% to $2,028 an ounce.
On the other hand, the dollar index stabilizes at 103.977 points.
Other minerals
Spot platinum rose 0.1% to $901.50 an ounce, palladium rose 0.2% to $977.05, while silver fell 0.1% to $22.97 an ounce.
